APN/CG/July 2013

Control Transformer sizing for contactor actuation

Introduction

A contactor is an electromagnetic device consisting of a coil and magnet system along with fixed
and moving contacts. When the coil is energized, it produces a magnetic field thereby attracting
the moving magnet. This causes the fixed and moving contacts to connect and the contactor is
said to be actuated. The energization of contactor coil is usually done through a control
transformer.

This is mainly done because voltage requirements vary with control systems and with an
intermediary control transformer the desired voltage can be obtained.

When a contactor coil is energized, it draws in a high inrush current momentarily. Apart from
contactor coils, relays and solenoids are some other devices which draw inrush current when
energized. The control transformer selected must be able to accommodate this momentary high
inrush current for a satisfactory operation.

Selection of a control transformer

For a proper selection of control transformer, three parameters of the load circuit must be
determined in addition to the minimum voltage required to operate the circuit. These are Hold on
VA, Pick-Up VA, and Inrush load power factor.

Hold-On VA: Hold-On VA is the product of load voltage (V) multiplied by the current that is
required to operate the circuit after initial start up or under normal operating conditions. It is
calculated by adding the hold-on VA requirements of all the electrical devices of the circuit that
will be energized at any given time. Hold-On VA is also sometimes referred as steady state VA.

Pick-Up VA: Pick-Up VA is the product of load voltage (V) multiplied by the current (A) that is
required during start up. It is calculated by adding the pick-up VA requirements of all devices
(contactors, timers, relays, solenoids, etc) which will be energized together. Energization of
electromagnetic devices takes 20-50 milliseconds. During this inrush period, the electromagnetic
devices draw 3 to 10 times the normal current.
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Inrush Load power factor: Inrush load power factor is difficult to determine without a detailed
vector analysis of all the load components. Generally such analysis is not feasible; hence a safe
assumption would be 40% power factor. Until recently 20% power factor was commonly used for
transformer calculations; however tests conducted on major brands of control devices indicate
that 40% power factor is a same assumption.

It is recommended that a control transformer be sized at 40% power factor. Some electromagnetic
devices typically operate at that level due to their inherently low power factor. Selecting a control
transformer at 40% power factor will be more than the adequate size for all the various loads in
the circuit.

Besides the above parameters there are two parameters of primary and secondary voltage.
Primary voltage is the voltage available from electrical distribution system which is connected to
the transformer supply terminals. Secondary voltage is the voltage required for load operation
which is connected to the transformer load voltage terminals.

Steps for selection of control transformer

1) Determine the supply and load voltages as per requirement. The supply voltage is the voltage
available to control transformer and load voltage is the operating voltage of all the devices
connected to the transformer output.
2) Determine the hold-on and pick-up VA of each coil in the control circuit. This data is provided by
the product manufacturer in the datasheet.
3) Calculate the hold-on VA by adding the VA requirements of all the equipment that will be
energized together (timers, contactors, relays, solenoids, pilot lamps etc).
4) Calculate the Pick Up VA of all the coils that will be energized together. Be sure to include the
hold-on VA of components that don’t have inrush (lamps, timers) as they present load to the
transformer during maximum inrush.
5) Calculate the application Inrush VA by using the following industry accepted formula,

6) Based on the value of application Inrush VA obtained, use regulation chart for selecting the control
transformer rating.
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Using regulation chart to select the transformer rating

Continuous VA Inrush VA @ 40% Power Factor

Transformer 85% 90% 95%
Name plate Secondary Secondary Secondary
rating (A) Voltage Voltage (B) Voltage
25 160 130 95
50 270 210 160
75 435 365 255
100 635 520 370
150 1300 1010 700
200 1975 1500 1020
250 2680 2030 1340
350 3665 2820 1895
500 6300 5035 3305
750 10555 7920 5050
1000 15225 11160 6000

The above regulation chart gives the continuous rating of the control transformer and the
corresponding inrush VA at different secondary voltage levels. This secondary voltage value
depends on internal losses in the transformer.

After calculating the application inrush VA as discussed above, determine the secondary voltage
level of the transformer. Column B indicates that during inrush, 90% of the rated voltage would be
available at the transformer secondary, which is an acceptable drop in rated voltage. Once this is
determined, read down the column until you arrive at a value which is more than the application
inrush VA calculated. Corresponding to this value, the value in column A would be the nameplate
rating of the control transformer.

As a final check, make sure that the transformer VA rating is equal to or greater than the total
circuit Hold-On requirements.

Let us further understand this with the help of an example,

Consider MNX 110 contactor,

Pick Up VA = 550VA
Hold On VA = 36VA
Application Inrush = √ (5502 + 362) = 552 VA

Now from the above table we consider the secondary voltage delivered by the transformer as 90%
of the nameplate secondary voltage under maximum inrush conditions at rated input voltage.
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In column B, under 90% secondary voltage, we have to select a value more than 552 VA. The
nearest value greater than 552VA is 1010VA. Corresponding to the value the control transformer
nameplate rating is 150VA in column A.

Hence rating of the control transformer for energizing MNX 110 is 150VA

Let us now consider MO 110 contactor,

Pick Up VA = 240VA
Hold On VA = 25VA
Application Inrush = √ (2402 + 252) = 241.3 VA

Now from the above table we consider the secondary voltage delivered by the transformer as 90%
of the nameplate secondary voltage under maximum inrush conditions at rated input voltage.

In column B, under 90% secondary voltage, we have to select a value more than 242 VA. The
nearest value greater than 242VA is 365VA. Corresponding to this value the control transformer
nameplate rating is 75VA in column A.

Hence rating of the control transformer for energizing MO 110 is 75VA

Summarizing for an 110A AC3 contactor the comparison is as below,

Contactor MNX 110 MO 110

Pick Up VA 550 240
Hold ON-VA 36 25
Application Inrush 552 241.2
Size of Control Transformer 150 VA 75 VA

It can be seen that with MO contactors, there is a significant reduction in control transformer
size. This will in turn result in cost savings for the user.

The above method assumes that all contactors are picked up at the same time.
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There is also an alternative, more accurate way for sizing the control transformer. This method is
more application specific and depends on the exact number of components that are actuated at a
given point of time.

Let us consider a general example of a system having five Star-Delta motor feeders each of 50 HP
motors. A typical Star-Delta feeder would consist of a Star contactor, Main contractor and a delta
contactor. It would also have two auxiliary contactors, one for start interlocking and one for
emergency stop.

We will now compute the pickup VA requirements at different instants of time and would select
the control transformer corresponding to the highest Pick up VA requirement at any given time
instant.

Case 1: Considering MNX contactors

For a 50 HP Star delta feeder as per Fuse based type 2 charts, selection would be,
Star Contactor: MNX 32
Main/Delta Contactor: MNX 45
Auxiliary contactor: MX0 (One for start interlocking and one for emergency stop)

Since there are 5 feeders total contactors are,

MNX 32: 5 Nos
MNX 45: 10 Nos
MX0: 10 Nos (2 in each feeder)

The pick up and Hold on VA of individual contactors is as given below,

Contactor Pick Up VA Hold On VA

MNX 32 68 11
MNX 45 190 21
MX0 26 4.5

At t = 0 (At Panel Power On)

The emergency contactors in all five feeders will pick up.
Total Pick up VA = 26 x 5 VA
= 130 VA

At t = 1 (When Start command is given)

The star contactor, main contactor and start interlocking auxiliary contactor will pick up
Total Pick up VA = (68 x 5) + (190 x 5) + (26 x 5)
= 1420 VA
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At t = 2 (At Star to Delta Changeover)

The Star contactor will drop off and the main contactor will pick up
Total Pick up VA = 190 x 5
= 950 VA

At t=2 except star contactor all contactors will be picked up. Hence Hold on VA would be
maximum at t=2
Total Hold On VA = (21 x 10) + (4.5 x 10)
= 255 VA

Maximum Pick up VA requirement = 1420 VA

Maximum Hold on VA requirement = 255 VA

Assuming secondary voltage to be 90% of the rated value,

The control transformer rating to be selected is 350 VA

Had we assumed that all the contactors pick up at the same time the control transformer selection
would have been computed as below,

Pick Up VA = 68 x 5 + 190 x 10 + 26 x 10
= 2500 VA

Hold On VA = 11 x 5 + 21 x 10 + 4.5 x 10
= 310 VA

Hence the control transformer rating would be 350 VA, which is much more than the earlier
calculated rating. So the earlier method which takes into account the application gives a more
accurate control transformer sizing

Case 2: Considering MO contactors

For a 50 HP Star delta feeder as per type 2 charts, selection would be,
Star Contactor: MO 32
Main/Delta Contactor: MO 40
Auxiliary contactor: MX0 (One for start interlocking and one for emergency stop)

Since there are 5 feeders total contactors are,

MO 32: 5 Nos
MO 40: 10 Nos
MX0: 10 Nos (2 in each feeder)
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The pick up and Hold on VA of individual contactors is as given below,

Contactor Pick Up VA Hold On VA

MO 32 77 9
MO 40 77 9
MX0 26 4.5

At t = 0 (At Panel Power On)

The emergency contactors in all five feeders will pick up.
Total Pick up VA = 26 x 5 VA
= 130 VA

At t = 1 (When Start command is given)

The star contactor, main contactor, and start interlocking auxiliary contactor will pick up
Total Pick up VA = (77 x 5) + (77 x 5) + (26 x 5)
= 900 VA

At t = 2 (At Star to Delta Changeover)

The Star contactor will drop off and the main contactor will pick up
Total Pick up VA = 77 x 5
= 385 VA

At t=2 except star contactor all contactors will be picked up. Hence Hold on VA would be
maximum at t=2

Total Hold On VA = (9 x 10) + (4.5 x 10)

= 135 VA

Maximum Pick up VA requirement = 900 VA

Maximum Hold on VA requirement = 135 VA

Assuming secondary voltage to be 90% of the rated value,

The control transformer rating to be selected is 150 VA

Had we assumed that all the contactors pick up at the same time the control transformer selection
would have been computed as below,
Pick Up VA = 77 x 15 + 26 x 10
= 1415 VA

Hold On VA = 9 x 15 + 4.5 x 10
= 180 VA
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Hence the control transformer rating would be 200 VA, which is much more than the earlier
calculated rating. So the earlier method which takes into account the application gives a more
accurate control transformer sizing

From the above computation it is clear that control transformer size with MO contactors is much
lower than that obtained by using MNX contactors. This greatly reduces the cost of the control
transformer providing direct benefit to the user. Thus MO turns out to be an economical solution
over MNX with regards to control transformer sizing for the end user.

Annexure
Below is the table for control transformer ratings for MNX & MO range of contactors (single
contactor) at 90% secondary voltage

MNX Power Contactors

MNX Frame Wise Pick Up VA Hold On VA Application Inrush Transformer VA ratings
(Single Coil) (Single Coil) VA (Single Coil) (For single coil)
MNX 9 - 22 68 11 69 25
MNX 25 - 40 68 11 69 25
MNX 45 - 80 190 21 191 50
MNX 95 - 140 550 36 551 150
MNX 185 - 225 960 56 962 150
MNX 265 - 400 2100 95 2102 350
MNX 550 - 650 1000 25 1000 150

MO Power Contactors

MO Frame Wise Pick Up VA Hold On VA Application Inrush Transformer VA ratings

(Single Coil) (Single Coil) VA (Single Coil) (For single coil)
MO 9 - 45 77 9 77.5 25
MO 50 - 70 144 15 144.8 50
MO 80 - 110 240 25 241.3 75

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